End of the Year Reflection

Good morning people. How ya doin'? I'm so tired right now. I had a karate tournament all weekend. It was so much fun, but also exhausting. I'll write more about it later.

So, I've been doing this blog for my English class. We started it at the beginning of the year, and now thats the year's almost over, so is the blog project. This last post is supposed to be a reflection of the year. I'm supposed to write about how I've changed this year.

How have I changed this year? I started out the year as a shy, awkward nerd with 4 friends. Now, I'm still shy and awkward (and nerdy), but not as much. I have a lot more friends and I talk a lot more than I used to. I think that could be partly because of this blog. When I can talk to people with out having to worry about what I say, I start to get more comfortable with talking.

I'm also one of those people who doesn't show their feelings. When I have somewhere like this where I can just vent, it becomes so much easier to deal with the emotion's I try to keep hidden.

How else have I changed? I honestly have no idea. I've become a better writer and violinist. I've injured myself countless times at karate. Just yesterday, I totally messed up my leg. It's fine now, but it really hurt yesterday.

Okay, well, I think that's it. Before I go, I want to thank all my wonderful readers (if I have any). You guys have been great. Although I don't understand why you would take time out of your day to read this, I'm grateful to anyone who did. My goal for this year was to get at least 500 views. I got more than 800. Readers, you really are amazing.

Image courtesy of Booklikes

Hey, if you like Dr. Who (a super amazing show), check out my friend Kimberly's blog.

Flirting

Hello peoples. How's it going? Good. I'm really excited right now. I have a karate tournament tonight and tomorrow. It's gonna be so much fun. Tournaments always are. I'm competing in three different events: Traditional Forms, Traditional Weapon Forms, and Sparring. I don't know if I'll win forms or weapons for my division, but I will most likely win sparring. I almost always do. I'm also part of my studio's advanced demo team. We have a pretty good demo this year, but probably not good enough to win. Well, it's gonna be a long, fun, exhausting weekend. On Sunday, I'm going over to my friend Jenny's house to watch the season 4 finale of Once Upon a Time. Thats also gonna be fun.

Cute, flirty Shawn Millock
Image courtesy of IMDB

In the last part of my story, Shawn took Anny to the IFPA control room, where she met his friend Abby. Abby explained the purpose and importance of the control room before Anny and Shawn had to leave.

“She likes you,” I said once we were in the hallway.

“What makes you say that?” he asked skeptically.

“She’s a girl. So am I. And how could any girl resist you?” I teased, laughing at his surprised expression. “You’re cute and flirty. Two things most girls love.”

“You’re right. I am flirty.” He draped his arm over my shoulder, grinning.

“Oh, no, Millock. I still have that flashlight. And don’t you think I’m a bit too young for you to flirt with?”

“I flirt with everyone,” he reminded me.

“Even fifteen year old girls? How old are you anyways?” I asked him.

“Nineteen.” He removed his arm from around my shoulders and took a step away from me, his grin fading. “Maybe I am too old for you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He smiled at me. “Let’s go.” They walked in silence the rest of the way

back to my new apartment. The silence was awkward at first, but then it settled into a

comfortable, friendly silence. Shawn broke the long silence when they arrived at my

apartment.

“Your training starts tomorrow. Will you be able to find your way back to the training room by yourself?” he asked.

“Maybe,” I answered.

“I don’t want you to get lost, so I’ll take you there. I’ll be here at 9. Be ready. See you tomorrow.” He walked off down the hall without waiting for my response. I started after him, all of a sudden feeling strangely lonely. I shook it off and opened the door to the room that would be my home for the next few weeks.

The Control Room...

Good morning, lovelies. How are you all? I am so tired (like usual). I don't want to go to school tomorrow. At least we only have 23 days left (!). I can't wait till summer. It's gonna be so fun. *Stares into space dreamily* Sleeping in, going camping, working at the library, and going to Shwayder Camp (the best summer camp ever!). It's gonna be great.

Monday was the Utah State Math Contest. It was a multiple choice test with 40 questions. It was soooo hard. I answered maybe 12 out of 40 problems. I skipped the rest. The scoring for that test is really cool. Each correct answer is 6 points, wrong answers are 0 points, and blank answers are 1.5 points. Even though I don't think I got any questions wrong, I definitely didn't win by only answering 12 questions. Oh, well. I can always try again next year.

In the last part of my story, Shawn told Anny how IFPA training works. He gave her a few archery tips and showed her around the training room before continuing the tour.

This is like the IFPA control room
Image courtesy of Ifsecglobal.

Shawn took me all over the compound. I saw other training classrooms, the infirmary, and the control room. The control room was a small room. A desk was pushed up against each of the three walls that did not contain the door. On each desk was three or four computer screens, and each screen was divided into four pictures. A young woman was sitting at one of the desks. She looked up when Shawn entered the room.

“Anny, this is Abby. She’s the supervisor here. She’s in charge of making sure the compound stays secure,” Shawn introduced me to the woman. “Abby, do you want to tell Anny what you do in here?”

“I watch the cameras. Everything they see, I see in here. There’s security cameras

set up all over the compound. They’re everywhere except apartments and bathrooms,” Abby said. Shawn wandered over to one of the screens and looked at it. It showed the training room.

“Why do you need security cameras?” I asked.

“Think about it. We live in an underground compound, trying to end a war. Don’t

you think Dalen would have tried to send his people to sabotage us? To try to stop us

from stopping him? What do you think would happen then? All our progress could be lost. We need to be able to see what’s happening everywhere in the compound in order to stop that from happening,” Abby said.

I didn’t say anything to that. I walked over to see what Shawn was looking at. He moved to block my view of the screen.

“Time to go, Anny,” he said. “Thanks for letting us drop by, Abby.”

“Anytime.” She grinned flirtatiously at him. “It was nice to meet you, Anny,” she called as we left the control room.